MANILA, Philippines – Tinitingnan ni newly installed Tourism Secretary Dita Angara-Mathay ang “low lying fruits” sa pagpapalakas ng turismo sa halip na tutukan lamang ang mga dayuhang turista.
“Ang domestic po is four times what we earn from foreign travelers, foreign visitors. So ‘yun talaga, if you look at the composition of how much the industry earns, malaki ang contribution ng domestic tourism. That’s where we find the-low hanging fruits,” aniya.
“What we are going to do by June is to launch a domestic tourism campaign. We have spoken to some hotels, restaurants and other members of the industry to give discounted packages to our returning balikbayans and domestic tourists so that the business will keep on flowing,” dagdag pa ni Angara-Mathay.
Aminado ang opisyal na ang tourism sector ay hindi maganda ang performance gaya ng inaasahan kung kaya’t tinitingnan din ng Department of Tourism (DOT) ang pagkuha sa popular girl group na Bini para maging tourism ambassadors ng Pilipinas.
“We are so proud of them for their Coachella stint and we congratulated them, of course. We always put value to our talents for waving our flag on the international stage,” ayon kay Angara-Mathay.
Pananatilihin naman ng DOT ang “Love the Philippines” bilang tourism slogan, ngunit bibigyan ng bagong bihis sa pagsusulong ng domestic tourism.
“Make it something like ‘discover your first love,’ or ‘love your own,’” aniya.
Si Angara-Mathay ay isa sa mga gabineta ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na sumama sa state visit nito sa Japan. RNT/JGC
